# E13 - Those Who Form the Backbone
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/GK9U383K3/those-who-form-the-backbone)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:00] Sign**
National High School Sports Tournament Girls' Soccer Division
**[00:00] Sign**
Saitama Knockout Stages Game 1
**[00:00] Sign**
Saitama Knockout Stages Game 1
**[00:00] Sign**
Urawa Hosei
**[00:00] Sign**
Urawa Hosei
**[00:00] Sign**
Warabi Seinan
**[00:00] Sign**
Warabi Seinan
**[00:34] Hanabusa**
Yes!
**[00:38] Urawa**
Yes!
**[00:39] Tenma**
Good job, Ada!
**[00:52] Nomi**
That was a crushing defeat.
***SIGN*** Knockout Stages Round 1
***SIGN*** Warabis Are Defeated
**[01:05] Tenma**
Number 4, Number 10, Stojković.
**[01:08] Tenma**
You three idiots, sign these documents.
**[01:10] Sign**
Club Application
**[01:10] Sign**
Club Application
**[01:12] Tenma**
Quit the Warabis and join our team!
**[01:15] All**
Huh?
**[01:18] Chika**
This is what you chose, Midori?
**[01:23] Midori**
Chika-senpai...
**[01:25] Chika**
What are you guys doing?
**[01:27] Chika**
The Kanto Tournament, Nationals...
**[01:29] Chika**
Good players need to be visible.
**[01:33] Chika**
They need to stand out more
and generate more hype.
**[01:37] Chika**
That's especially true of
women's soccer players.
**[01:39] Chika**
So why'd you choose a school that's
perpetually stuck in the prelims?
**[01:43] Chika**
You have so much talent!
**[01:45] Chika**
Your style of play is enchanting.
**[01:48] Chika**
The future of women's soccer is riding on us.
**[01:54] Chika**
What are you guys doing?!
**[02:06] Sign**
Farewell,
My Dear Cramer
**[02:06] Sign**
Farewell,
My Dear Cramer
**[02:06] Sign**
Farewell,
My Dear Cramer
**[02:07] Sign**
Farewell,
My Dear Cramer
***SIGN*** Those Who Form the Backbone
**[03:29] Nomi**
Yesterday's match was tough.
**[03:32] Nomi**
It was raining. I'm sure
everyone's exhausted.
**[03:35] Nomi**
So no practice today.
**[03:37] Nomi**
Tell everyone to get some rest.
**[03:44] Nomi**
What's wrong?
**[03:45] Tase**
Oh, it's nothing. Excuse us.
**[03:51] Miyasaka**
Why are you so down in the dumps?
**[03:55] Miyasaka**
We fought well yesterday, didn't we?
**[03:58] Miyasaka**
Losing 2-0 against eight-time
champions isn't a bad result.
**[04:02] Tase**
Yeah, I thought the same thing.
**[04:07] Tase**
But Urawa Hosei only showed us a
brief glimpse of their real strength
**[04:11] Tase**
in the last few minutes of the second half.
**[04:14] Tase**
Our best was powerless
against Urawa's true system.
**[04:21] Tase**
If they'd used it in the first half...
**[04:24] Tase**
No, what frustrates me
most is that they didn't.
**[04:29] Miyasaka**
We dragged out their max effort,
which they'd been saving for Nationals.
**[04:34] Miyasaka**
You should recognize that.
**[04:36] Tase**
But...
**[04:38] Miyasaka**
It's always "but, but, but" with you!
**[04:40] Miyasaka**
Obsessing over everything
is a bad habit of yours!
**[04:43] Tase**
Do you think we can reach their level?
**[04:46] Tase**
Can we get stronger?
**[05:55] Fukatsu**
If you're kicking it as hard
as you can, you should stop.
**[05:59] Fukatsu**
Maintaining good physical condition
is an important part of training.
**[06:04] Nozomi**
Then you should've said that
when you got here, Panda Eyes!
**[06:08] Fukatsu**
I thought it was necessary for
you to vent your anger, too.
**[06:16] Nozomi**
Hey, Panda Eyes. Aren't girls
allowed to play soccer for fun?
**[06:24] Fukatsu**
That's what you're worried about?
**[06:31] Fukatsu**
Was it Number 26? The girl with the goggles?
**[06:34] (Flashback) Chika**
The future of women's soccer is riding on us.
**[06:40] Nozomi**
Thinking about the future or having a
responsibility makes it hard to breathe.
**[06:45] Fukatsu**
It's the history of women's soccer
that made Number 26 say that to you.
**[06:51] Fukatsu**
Women's soccer players constantly
feel a sense of impending doom.
**[06:57] Fukatsu**
It's been a while since they had the
charismatic Naoko Nomi in their ranks,
**[07:00] Fukatsu**
but they're still expected to get
results at international tournaments.
**[07:05] Fukatsu**
How can they captivate an audience
**[07:07] Fukatsu**
whose interest cools as quickly
as it boils over with excitement?
**[07:11] Fukatsu**
How can they establish a
culture of women's soccer?
**[07:15] Fukatsu**
It's an eternal problem.
**[07:17] Fukatsu**
This country gets excited about sports
teams that perform well internationally.
**[07:23] Fukatsu**
That's why they're expected to be strong.
**[07:25] Fukatsu**
That's only natural for a
competitive activity, though.
**[07:29] Fukatsu**
And the key to that is expanding
the pool of players to pick from.
**[07:34] Fukatsu**
A sport is held aloft by its players.
**[07:37] Fukatsu**
A fragile foundation cannot
support great heights.
**[07:42] Fukatsu**
Increasing the number of soccer players
**[07:44] Fukatsu**
is the quickest way to turn Japan into
the soccer superpower it should be.
**[07:52] Fukatsu**
In other words,
**[07:53] Fukatsu**
what matters is whether people
watching you get inspired to play soccer.
**[07:59] Nozomi**
Nobody's inspired by me.
**[08:03] Fukatsu**
You sure?
**[08:14] Fukatsu**
You're fine just the way you are.
**[08:17] Nozomi**
Huh?
**[08:28] (Flashback) Nozomi**
You make it sound like we
won't ever make it to Nationals.
**[08:32] (Flashback) Chika**
That's precisely what I'm saying.
After all, we're here in Saitama.
**[08:38] (Flashback) Nozomi**
Then the answer is simple.
**[08:40] (Flashback) Nozomi**
We lost today! It was a crushing defeat!
**[08:44] (Flashback) Nozomi**
But we'll get stronger.
**[08:46] (Flashback) Nozomi**
I made a promise to get
stronger and beat Kunogi.
**[08:53] (Flashback) Nozomi**
It's no fun if there's only one strong team.
It's better to have several of them.
**[08:58] (Flashback) Nozomi**
We'll end your supremacy.
**[09:05] (Flashback) Nozomi**
We'll become stronger.
**[09:13] (Flashback) Sawa**
I thought Non-chan and other soccer
players were different from me.
**[09:20] (Flashback) Sawa**
But after experiencing my first girls'
soccer tournament, I realized something.
**[09:25] (Flashback) Sawa**
They're all ordinary girls
who like soccer, just like me.
**[09:31] (Flashback) Sawa**
I'm an idiot.
**[09:35] (Flashback) Sawa**
I should've known that.
**[09:37] (Flashback) Sawa**
More than anyone else,
I've seen how hard she works.
**[09:42] (Flashback) Sawa**
I can't become like Non-chan
or the other players,
**[09:47] (Flashback) Sawa**
but I can become me.
**[09:50] (Flashback) Sawa**
I want to become the soccer
player that only I can become.
**[09:55] Sawa**
* And I want to stand on the*
* field with everyone else.*
**[09:59] Sawa**
*I want to be useful to the team.*
**[10:01] Sawa**
* I want to share happiness, joy,*
* pain, and sadness with the team.*
**[10:14] Sawa**
Huh? Su-chan, are you
training by yourself, too?
**[10:19] Sawa**
Non-chan!
**[10:22] Nozomi**
Sacchan!
**[10:23] Fukatsu**
The grumpy one's here, too.
You guys were supposed to take the day off.
**[10:31] Sign**
Heartthrob
**[10:31] Sign**
Country
**[10:43] Tenma**
Hey, pigtailed loser.
**[10:46] Tenma**
When are you gonna
submit your club application?
**[10:50] Tenma**
Chika's all depressed because
you won't join our team!
**[10:55] Midori**
What? Chika-senpai!
**[10:57] Chika**
I'm not depressed!
**[11:05] (Flashback) Chika**
All right!
**[11:07] Chika**
* Midori, when you led Todakita Middle*
* to a third place finish at Nationals,*
**[11:13] Chika**
*I was genuinely happy.*
**[11:16] Chika**
* You turned what we built—what our*
* seniors built—into its best possible form.*
**[11:23] Chika**
* You're a carefree otaku,*
* but you're also a great soccer player.*
**[11:32] Chika**
* And I'd get to play with that improved*
* version of you again in high school.*
**[11:38] Chika**
*Or so I believed.*
**[11:41] Midori**
I'm not frustrated about losing to Urawa.
**[11:44] Midori**
Not in the slightest.
**[11:45] Midori**
After all, it was expected.
**[11:47] Tenma**
What did you say?!
**[11:50] Alice**
Violence is wrong!
**[11:52] Midori**
I mean, we don't have any third-years.
**[11:55] Midori**
Our starting lineup's full of first-years.
On top of that, we only met last month.
**[12:00] Midori**
You can't call that a team.
**[12:03] Midori**
If anything, it's incredible we made it
that far, given the circumstances.
**[12:08] Midori**
Chika-senpai, do you remember what you said?
**[12:10] Midori**
We need to "stand out more
and generate more hype."
**[12:14] Midori**
In that case, I'll build a team to rival Urawa.
**[12:18] Tenma**
Oh, really? You think you can?
**[12:21] Midori**
I'm on the team.
**[12:23] Midori**
They've got me, and I've been watching
Chika-senpai this whole time.
**[12:28] Midori**
Nothing beats standing out at
one of the bigger tournaments,
**[12:32] Midori**
but a team playing their hearts out at
regional level generates more hype.
**[12:35] (Flashback) Nozomi**
It's no fun if there's only one strong team.
**[12:38] Midori**
*The coals are already smoldering.*
**[12:41] Midori**
*I'll make them famous.*
**[12:44] Midori**
I'm sorry, Chika-senpai.
**[12:47] Midori**
I should've had a proper conversation with
you when you invited me to join Urawa.
**[12:52] Chika**
Midori...
**[12:54] Midori**
I'm sure the team you built for me is an amazing
team that would've felt great to play on.
**[13:01] Midori**
But...
**[13:03] Midori**
I want to try building a team for myself.
**[13:08] Midori**
After all, when you were recruiting members,
**[13:11] Midori**
and discussing tactics and systems,
**[13:16] Midori**
you always looked like you
were having so much fun.
**[13:29] Midori**
*Hey, Chika-senpai. I'm so excited.*
**[13:35] Midori**
* On this blank canvas of a team,*
* I can become anything.*
**[13:45] Sawa**
It's Son-chan!
**[13:49] Fukatsu**
She came, too?
**[13:51] Nozomi**
Soshizaki!
**[13:52] Nozomi**
Pass the ball to us!
**[14:00] Tenma**
Sounds like your apprentice
completed her training.
**[14:03] Chika**
She's not my apprentice.
**[14:06] Chika**
She's my opponent.
**[14:08] Chika**
My greatest opponent.
**[14:15] Chika**
You grew too much, dummy.
**[14:20] Chika**
Goodbye.
**[14:33] Miyasaki**
The first-years?
**[14:39] Miyasaki**
The first-years have
already started running.
**[14:43] Miyasaki**
You can't keep brooding like this.
**[14:46] Kikuchi**
Captain!
**[14:57] Miyasaka**
We'll get stronger, Captain.
**[15:01] Tase**
Yeah.
**[15:03] (Flashback) Nozomi**
We'll get stronger.
**[15:07] Tase**
*I'm sure we'll get stronger.*
**[15:10] Tase**
*We'll get stronger.*
**[15:21] Wakasu**
It's a shame what happened at the Prefecturals.
**[15:25] Nomi**
No, I was lacking in every way.
**[15:28] Nomi**
I failed to lead them to Nationals.
**[15:32] Wakasu**
Do you remember what I told
you after our practice game?
**[15:38] Nomi**
Yes. That it's the coaches who nurture
talent, as well as allow it to rot.
**[15:44] Nomi**
So I should abandon my pride and
give them everything I've cultivated.
**[15:50] Nomi**
I should talk to them and learn.
**[15:53] Wakasu**
That's right. Only by doing
that do we become coaches.
**[16:00] Nomi**
Every day, while talking to them through
the ball, I make surprising discoveries.
**[16:07] Nomi**
Just when I think all they're displaying is
the self-centered behavior of teenage girls,
**[16:11] Nomi**
they show me plays that make
my eyes grow wide in amazement.
**[16:14] Wakasu**
Just like you used to do, huh?
**[16:20] Nomi**
I caused a lot of trouble for you.
**[16:24] Wakasu**
The rougher the edges of the gemstone,
the more worthwhile it is to polish.
**[16:32] Nomi**
I believe those girls are the future
of Japanese women's soccer.
**[16:38] Wakasu**
Oh?
**[16:39] Nomi**
And as someone nurtured by you
and Japanese women's soccer,
**[16:47] Nomi**
I believe it's my job to coach them.
**[16:52] Wakasu**
You're starting to look like a coach.
**[16:59] Nomi**
Thank you.
***SIGN*** Several Days Later
**[17:03] Sawa**
* Several days later, the newly reborn*
* Warabis began building up our team.*
**[17:14] Nomi**
Twenty push-ups if she
takes the ball from you!
**[17:26] Nomi**
You're helping her too slowly!
**[17:27] Fukatsu**
The counterattack's coming!
**[17:29] Fukatsu**
Slow her down!
**[17:30] Fukatsu**
Switch to defense quickly!
**[17:34] Yamada**
Wow, look at that. Echizen's playing soccer.
**[17:38] Takei**
Not only that, but that
position seems to suit her.
**[17:41] Namek**
She's really good at defending.
**[17:46] Nomi**
Girls, listen up.
**[17:49] Sign**
JKFB Interleague
**[17:49] Sign**
JKFB Interleague
**[17:49] Sign**
JKFB Interleague
**[17:49] Nomi**
This June, we'll be playing
in the JKFB Interleague.
**[17:54] Tase**
Interleague?
**[17:56] Miyasaka**
It's a league for high schools
from Tokyo's suburbs.
**[17:59] Nomi**
For better or worse,
**[18:01] Nomi**
since we lost in the first round,
we've got some time on our hands.
**[18:05] Nomi**
We'll use this time to build the backbone of
our team, gain experience in the Interleague,
**[18:09] Nomi**
make adjustments where needed, and mount
an assault on the Championship prelims!
**[18:15] Tase**
*Championship prelims...*
**[18:23] Tase**
Let's do it, girls!
**[18:25] All**
Yeah!
**[18:29] Nozomi**
*I see.*
**[18:31] Nozomi**
* I'll get to experience*
* that excitement again.*
**[18:35] Nozomi**
* Incredible players I've never*
* seen before are waiting for me.*
**[18:43] Nozomi**
*I wish I could play right now!*
***SIGN*** June
***SIGN*** First Game of JKFB Interleague
**[18:52] Nomi**
We've done everything we can.
**[18:55] Fukatsu**
You mean I did.
**[18:57] Fukatsu**
It's ridiculous.
**[18:58] Fukatsu**
I can't believe you decided to become a
coach when you're so terrible at tactics.
**[19:05] Sawa**
* For these past few weeks, Coach Fukatsu*
* patiently taught the team about tactics.*
**[19:13] Sawa**
*And we're about to take a new first step.*
**[19:23] Miyasaka**
Come on, Captain. Do the cheer for us.
**[19:25] Tase**
Huh?
**[19:30] Tase**
When we lost to Urawa Hosei at the
Interhigh prelims, I was frustrated.
**[19:37] Tase**
I was so, so frustrated.
**[19:39] Tase**
But more than that, I felt miserable.
**[19:43] Tase**
After all, we lost to a team
that was holding back.
**[19:48] Tase**
I was about to lie down and give up.
**[19:52] Tase**
But when I looked up, all of you were there.
**[19:56] Tase**
I'm glad I get to play soccer with all of you.
**[20:05] Shiratori**
What a wonderful sentiment.
**[20:08] Shiratori**
The Swan accepts your feelings.
**[20:11] Kishi**
You're so embarrassing.
**[20:13] Tase**
What?
**[20:14] Komurasaki**
You're so pure, Tase.
**[20:16] Tase**
Huh?
**[20:16] Kakogawa**
A romantic and a crybaby.
**[20:20] Okachimachi**
You make it sound like this is the end.
**[20:24] Miyasaka**
We're just getting started, Tase.
**[20:29] Tase**
Yeah.
**[20:34] Tase**
I want to play soccer with all of you.
**[20:38] Tase**
So let's win.
**[20:40] Tase**
Let's play more soccer.
**[20:43] Tase**
Let's go, Warabis!
**[20:45] All**
Yeah!
**[22:20] Nomi**
*I'm relieved.*
**[22:21] Nomi**
*If we'd lost this match...*
***SIGN*** 6 Years Ago
**[22:24] Nomi**
*it would've meant the end
of women's soccer in Japan.*
**[22:28] Nomi**
*We must become stronger.*
**[22:31] Nomi**
* Since it's a competitive sport,*
* it goes without saying,*
**[22:34] Nomi**
* but I want to achieve positive results*
* and capture people's interest.*
**[22:40] Nomi**
* I want people to recognize the*
* problems women's soccer is facing.*
**[22:43] Nomi**
*And I want people to know*
**[22:46] Nomi**
*that girls can play soccer, too.*
**[22:51] Nomi**
* That you have lots of*
* friends all over the world.*
**[22:55] Nomi**
*I can't become better than I am.*
**[22:58] Nomi**
*You'll be the ones to surpass me.*
**[23:01] Nomi**
* I know I'm asking a lot,*
* but please keep playing.*
**[23:06] Nomi**
*Protect the league.*
**[23:08] Nomi**
* Protect this environment where girls can*
* enjoy soccer like it's the most natural thing.*
**[23:30] Nozomi**
* Soccer's more fun when*
* everyone's playing together.*